Just Rome-in' Around

In the Park of Monsters with Jessica and Hillary

As promised, I am going back in time to catch up on all of the exciting things I've done in the past couple of weeks.  In this entry I'll go back to the weekend of March 2nd.  Although I didn't make any lengthy trips out of Italy, it turned out that there is plenty to do right here, even after having seen most of the main tourist attractions.
On Friday, I traveled with my program just a few hours outside of Rome to the little village of Bomarzo.  This village contains Italy's Park of Monsters, a park full of statues of mythical Roman creatures.  We visited the park on a beautiful sunny day and the atmosphere was surreal.  It was like walking into a huge playground.  After spending a few hours there, we enjoyed one of CEA's famous "more than you can eat" lunches out in the countryside.  Lunch was followed by a nap in the warm sun in an orchard of olive trees...talk about a surreal experience!

Ostia- a few hours outside of Rome

On Saturday, I ventured to the beach in Ostia, a coastal town only about 45 minutes away from Rome.  Coming from San Diego this may not have been the nicest beach I've ever seen but the sand and salt water were just what I needed.  Although it was a little too cold to swim, there's something about that ocean breeze and seeing the sun set over the ocean that makes me feel like life is good...a little beach gelato didn't hurt that sentiment either!  What a lovely way to spend an evening in Rome.

The Pope's Sunday address

On Sunday I woke myself up early to climb to the top St. Peter's Basilica.  320 stairs to the top gave me an incredible view of the city of Rome on one side and a view Vatican city- of which I had never really even seen pictures.  I could see the perfect image of Bernini's embracing arms leading the way to the church and forming the shape of a key.  This was certainly not an experience to forget.  Upon reentering Saint Peter's Square, I noticed that it was even more crowded than it had been when I arrived.  There had to be something going on.  It suddenly occurred to me that it was Sunday and almost noon...I had showed up just in time for the pope's Sunday address!  After waiting only 15 minutes, sure enough the pope opened up his window and spoke to the crowd below.  He spoke first in Italian and then spoke a few phrases in at least six or seven other languages, including English.  How lucky that I turned up at the right time and in the right place to witness his presentation.

View from the Top of St. Peter's- Bernini's Arms of the Church